Goth In All Over The World

I'll be honest , I went to this gig to see Jordan Reyne and was disappointed that she was to unwell to play, but these things happen and I'd rather that she got better so she can come again. Having said that there were still three bands on to enjoy, all in roughly the Goth and Rock universe.


I was talking to a blonde girl with teh promoter Eddie , and she turned out to be the singer with Arcane 39 the opening band. They opened with a cracking take on Black Sabbath's War Pigs, and I was expected more in the same vein especially with the bands name , also a female lead on a Sabbath song gave it and great feel. The following songs were essentially sometimes off kilter (in a good way) rock , sounding better for me on the fast numbers. Definitely a band to watch out for and you can find em on Facebook just click on the name link.

Tyrants

Next up were Dead Eyes Opened and for me they were the revelation of the night, a three piece with shades of Sisters of Mercy , late period Damned and a sliver of Nick Cave. This band a Goth and carry threat in their sound. Song after song , wave after wave of amazing sound , which didn't let up. Definitely looking forward to seeing them again and chatted with their singer , who is a really nice guy.

Mission Statement

Headliners were Rhombus with and expansive guitar based sound and imposing stage presence. The bass guitarist had guested with Dead Eyes Opened.

The Cluny was possibly a little too small for them but they filled the place with sound and had the select crowd on their feet all the way through until the end. A good end to a great night of Goth oriented music , every band is on my list to see again , and should be on yours to see at least once.

Nadine Shah GOTH Girl

I've enjoyed a lot of gigs recently , but not reported them on here because the bands are big and will definitely reported elsewhere. These were the Alabama 3 at the O2 Academy and Lee Scratch Perry at The Riverside , both amazing nights, but last night was Nadine Shah at the Gateshead Old Town Hall ( with a great acronym GOTH). It's the first time I'd been here as a venue , although it had been used by the Tyneside Cinema during it's refurbishment, but I was still not too sure what to expect although I had been one for one of their Choir programs.

Support band were Retriever , a local band and friends of Nadine, they played a half hour set, and the audience rightly loved them , the guitar treatment made sound as though it was in another building , but in a good way. I liked them and would happily pay to go and see them. A 4 piece with Jesus and Mary Chain Influences I found various articles but they're on Twitter here, and have a couple of EPS and singles out at the moment.

Nadine Shah Onstage at GOTH

Nadine Shah came on at 9 O' Clock to an acoustic loop based "Nothing Else To Do" from the new album Fast Food much to the crowd's enjoyment. Nadine's voice is deep and mesmerising and needs almost no accompaniment , but the music she and the band provide and are mesmerising slabs of drone excellence embellished with sounds notes and riffs that leave you amazed and stunned. I've been a fan since first hearing Aching Bones from her first album "Love Your Dum and Mad" which also got a run out last night along with the singles Stealing Cars and the closer "Fool" from the new album. The set was brilliant and the setting was amazing. Nadine was emotional as it was a hometown return , and she admitted to being nervous , but last night just confirnmed her position of one of my favourite female artists. While her look owes a little to Robert Palmer's backing singers on Addicted To Love crossed with Siouixsie her warmth and crowd engagement was wonderful.





I think she is already in with Jordan Reyne , PJ Harvey and Siouxsie as one of my greatest female artists, and I enjoyed this gig knowing that the next time she will probably be on the main stage at the Sage. The sound was amazing and the band were brilliant , and anyone not there missed a truly amazing night, although they can still buy the albums which are both amazing and probably unlike anything you will have heard. A great night and a privilege to be there

Jesus Was A Cockney?

After a mental week , which continues tomorrow, I had a ticket to see The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing. I was expecting a punk band with goggles and hats, but that's not what me and the audience got.I was late getting in, but as I got to the top of the stairs the second act had just hit the stage.....

Jordan Reyne:

.. was alone on stage dressed in black, with a pair of horns , and then some eerie backing vocals and a gorgeous voice. She was doing this all with recording loops , effectively recording her own backing live. Although this is an age old process , the first time I say this was John Martyn playing Big Muff on Rock Goes To College in the seventies. You can see it here.

Jordon though just sounded amazing , with great stories and some industrial noise thrown in such as on "Factory Song". Her set was amazing, dark , but with a light Australian audience rapport. I really cant remember such a different sound, the songs are spellbinding and originally minimalist. While it's clever to play complicated stuff , it's even better to make minimalism sound interesting, and the elements of her music may be simple they are woven in to complex wonderful tapestries. Then next ...

The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing 

I don't know what I was expecting , but this band are multi dimensional , thoroughly entertaining and consonantly surprising. Visually what you'd expect from a Steampunk band , the bassist reminded me of David Morrisey, but bassist , guitarist and singer were all great at singing and entertaining the crowd. At one point I was thinking Chas'n'Dave meet Anthrax as an analogy, but you have to throw in Music Hall , The Bonzos, Half Man Half Biscuit as pointers , with impeccable comic timing and excellent musicianship. Lot's of audience participation songs such as Charlie and Isembard Kingdom Brunel.There songs are fun but also educational. They even managed to include some of Judas Priest's "Breakin The Law"

Breakin The Law

And the audience loved it , dancing , singing , joining in. Also many of the crowd were dressed in steampunk regalia and the crowd and the band turned a gig into a memorable event.

A fantastic night was had by all , I ended up buying 5 CDs, and will definitely be sing all of these again , you should too.